ON JUNE 30, 2009, THE BRI PROGRAM OFFICE WILL BE CLOSING DOWN TEMPORARILY. THE ACTING DIRECTOR OF BRI AND THE BRI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ARE WORKING TO REINSTATE STAFF AND WE HOPE TO BEGIN PROGRAM ACTIVITIES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE ANY CHANGES TO THE UPCOMING FALL 2009 BRI BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION LECTURE SERIES OR TO THE 2010 NORTHEAST NATURAL HISTORY CONFERENCE, SO PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

Biodiversity Reading List

The following is a partial list of printed resources which contain useful information for biodiversity researchers and those simply concerned about biodiversity. Suggestions for additional resources to list are welcome and should be submitted to: bri@mail.nysed.gov

“In this book a master scientist tells the great story of how life on earth evolved. Edward O. Wilson describes how the species of the world became diverse and why the threat to that diversity today is beyond the scope of anything we have known before.“
---From the back cover.

Global Climate Change

Wyman, Richard L. (ed.). 1991. Global Climate Change and Life on Earth. Chapman and Hall. New York, New York.

“Global Climate Change and Life on Earth focuses on the greenhouse effect and its relation to such crucial issues as deforestation, overpopulation and hunger, pollution, sea-level changes, and the loss of biodiversity. These environmental threats now facing us could have so much momentum that unless steps are taken now to reverse them, they may soon overwhelm our ability to respond.”---From the back cover.

Human Population

Cohen, Joel E. 1995. How Many People Can the Earth Support? W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. New York, New York.

“...the definitive work on the global population problem.”
---Edward O. Wilson

Sustainability…and things you can do to help.

The Earthworks Group. 1995. 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save
the Earth. Andrews and McMeel. Kansas City, Missouri.

“To commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Earth Day, an updated guide to environmental awareness encompasses the latest research into such issues as global warming, ozone depletion, and endangered species and offers advice on how readers can help the environment.”---From Amazon.com.
NOTE: This book is out of print.

The Earthworks Group. 1991. The Next Step: 50 More Things You Can
Do to Save the Earth. Andrews and McMeel. Kansas City, Missouri.

“It goes beyond simple, individual actions, and focuses on ways of expanding community participation and awareness, ways of empowering people to create an impact beyond their own homes.”
---From Amazon.com

Until recently, the direct effects of declining biodiversity on human health have not been greatly discussed. This publication addresses some of these concerns while offering strategies for the sustainable use of biodiversity.

“The symposium on 'Sustainable Cities: Preserving and Restoring Urban Biodiversity', which led to this volume, was devoted to a reconnaissance of (1) the functions of biodiversity within urban areas, (2) the impacts of urbanization upon biodiversity, and (3) the ways to design cities compatibly with their ecological contexts.”
---From the introduction and overview.

“In a way, Keeping Options Alive is a 'how-to' publication. Its timely premise is that the biological sciences can help policy makers identify the threats to biodiversity, evaluate conservation tools, and come up with successful management strategies to the crisis of biotic impoverishment before it is full-blown.”
---From the foreword.

This book is a collection of papers from a major conference that highlights the causes of biodiversity loss followed by a systematic analysis of the approaches to preserving biodiversity.
“Anyone concerned with biodiversity should own this book...”
---From the journal Science.